How To Become A Morning Runner – 12 Simple Steps!

Early morning exercise, according to its adherents, sets the tone for the rest of the day. More energy, more focus, better mood levels.

Morning is also an excellent time to get into that running routine that doesn’t seem to fit any other time of day. Get it done and out of the way and you won’t have to worry about it until tomorrow morning.

What if you’re just not a morning person? There are ways to acclimate yourself to the world of morning exercise. So here’s How To Become a Morning Runner in 12 simple steps.

1. Get Enough Sleep

The exertion will eventually bankrupt your body, so you need to be well-rested if you want to get out of bed when that alarm goes off. Don’t be disappointed if you don’t do a backflip out of bed first thing.

Give yourself time to wake up and cut through the initial grogginess.

Here are some simple ways to get more sleep

2. Lay Out Your Clothes The Night Before

When you’re not a morning person, tasks as simple as thinking can be hard. So make it easy on yourself and lay out your clothes and your equipment in advance. That way, once the alarm goes off, getting dressed and getting going is as mindless as possible.

Try to anticipate how the weather is going to be when you’re going to run. Dressing too warm or too cool won’t help win you over to the world of early-morning exercise.

3. Warm-Up

Your state affects your mood. You’ve just been in bed lying still for 7-8 hours. How do you think your mindset is going to be when it’s time to get out there? Take a minute to warm up. Changing your state by warming up will change your mind and the idea of running will become more appealing.

Not to mention the fact that you’ll avoid injury. Here are some good exercises you can do before you run. 

4. Get a Friend Involved

Guilt is a powerful motivator. If you’re accountable to someone, then it’s harder to decide to sleep in and pass on your run. Then two people will be helping each other get out there and exercise.

5. Be Gentle With Yourself

If you’re haven’t gone for a morning run since you were in high school, cut yourself some slack. Day one isn’t going to find you like a marine just out of Basic. No matter how many setbacks you have, keep at it.

5 Questions To Ask Yourself After A Bad Run

The successful mornings will eventually become the norm. Rhythm and habit are a huge part of developing mind over matter. Your body has no idea what’s going on in the beginning. It’ll get used to what you’re doing over time.

Related: How to make running a habit! 15 Ways To Turn Your Loathe Into A Habit!

6. Start Slow

There’s a reason you aren’t running a marathon on your first go. If you have access to a treadmill, you might consider using it to get your body used to the idea of physical exertion first thing in the morning.

Accept the fact that walking and slow jogs are part of running, and you’ll be spending a lot of time with both in the beginning.

If you need to start the correct way, which is implementing a run/walk strategy to help prevent injuries and keep you running – long-term!

7. Embrace The Movement

The first few steps or blocks are the hardest. It’s counterintuitive, but the longer you push yourself, the easier the act of moving becomes.

Waiting for motivation won’t work. There will be mornings when you wait for the motivation to catch up with you. That’s the science of discipline.

Once you’re 20 minutes into your run, you’ll be glad you made the effort.

8. Stay Warm

Some of us are more sensitive to those morning chills than others. Getting out of that warm bed into the cool morning air can be jarring for anyone.

You might be able to offset some of the inconvenience by sleeping in your running clothes. Then all you have to do is throw on your outer layers and go.

You can take it a step further and put your alarm on the other side of the room so that you start getting used to the chill from the moment you wake up. Maybe leave yourself a personal note next to it. Something like “Are you gonna make yourself proud today?”

How To Run In Cold Weather – A Beginner’s Guide

9. Accept the pain and make peace with it

Michele Gonzalez, a running coach, tells us that she views waking up early like ripping off a bandage. It’s going to hurt for a little bit. The key is to push through that initial hurt.

Before you know it, you’re tired earlier in the day and you’re getting to bed earlier. Waking up at the crack of dawn may never get easy, but it does get easier.

Related: Why Do I Feel Tired After I Run (besides exerting energy)?

10. Give Your Body a Small Breakfast

You’ve been fasting the entire time you’ve been asleep. You’re going to need some fuel before you go running. You don’t need a banquet or a stack of pancakes. Just something to give your muscles something to burn. Oatmeal, a banana, peanut butter, even pudding. Even throw some coffee in the mix to boost performance.

11. Hydrate so You Don’t Sleep Late

How to make getting out of bed mandatory? Try drinking a tall glass of water before bed. That full bladder in the morning will have you begging to get out from between the sheets. If you make it to the bathroom in time, keep yourself there and try to wake up a bit. It’s easier to resist going back to bed than getting out of bed.

12. Get a Good Alarm App

There are alarm apps that require you to be awake in order to turn them off. The default alarm on many smartphones has the option of presenting you with a puzzle you have to solve if you want peace and quiet. Waking up is inevitable in the face of such a requirement.

At the end of the day, all the tips in the world won’t mean anything if you don’t want the end goal badly enough. If you want early morning exercise and its benefits to be a part of your daily life, you’ll get there.

Help support me and subscribe to my YouTube channel.

YouTube video - 30 ways to make your runs less painful!

Coach Scott's Credentials:
  • Published Author
  • RRCA Certified Running Coach (Level 2)
  • RRCA Certified Youth Running Coach
  • NASM CPT (Certified Personal Trainer).
  • NASM CNC (Certified Nutrition Coach)
  • NASM WLS (Weight Loss Specialist)
  • ACE SFC (Stretching and Flexibility Coach)
  • ACE GFI (Group Fitness Instructor)
He has published over 20 books including, Beginner's Guide to Half Marathons: A Simple Step-By-Step Solution to Get You to the Finish Line in 12 Weeks! (Beginner To Finisher Book 3), which has become an Amazon International #1 bestseller. Scott specializes in helping new runners become injury-free race finishers. He recently completed his 22nd half marathon race. 

 To sign up for a FREE half marathon training schedule, log sheet, and pace predictor CLICK HERE.

Recommended Running Gear

Recommended gear for runners

 Connect with me:

Instagram
facebook.com/BeginnerToFinisher/
Pinterest

References

https://lauranorrisrunning.com/tips-becoming-morning-runner/

How To Become A Morning Runner - 12 Simple Steps!

5 thoughts on “How To Become A Morning Runner – 12 Simple Steps!”

Leave a Comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.